Aaron Boone: ‘No timetable’ on when Sonny Gray will pitch to Gary Sanchez again

Sonny Gray unequivocally has had better results as a Yankee when pitching to Austin Romine as opposed to Gary Sanchez. So it was no surprise that Romine was behind the plate Friday night against Oakland in the Bronx for the fourth consecutive Gray start.

The question is when Gray will again pitch to Sanchez, because Aaron Boone can't avoid assembling that battery all season. It will happen again, Boone says, but he's not sure when.

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"We just kind of go start to start right now," Boone said before Gray's first start against his former team. "With Gary three in a row, day game (Saturday,) this is another opportunity where he's not gonna catch both of those games so it's easy to slot (Romine) in there (Friday.) So no, we'll continue to try and allow Sonny to continue to build momentum, continue to have both Gary and Ro a part of the game planning and relationship-building and all of the things that need to happen between pitcher and catcher. No, no timetable on when that will happen."

Sonny Gray unequivocally has had better results as a Yankee when pitching to Austin Romine as opposed to Gary Sanchez. (Julie Jacobson/AP)

In Gray's first five starts with Romine catching this season, he had a 3.71 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings; in two starts with Sanchez he allowed 11 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.

Last season after Gray arrived at the trade deadline, he had a 4.63 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings across eight starts with Sanchez; in three games with Romine he had a 1.45 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings.

Brandon Drury, out since April 7 with a longstanding migraine issue, will complete the 20th and final day of his rehab assignment on Monday. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

"First of all, Ro is very good at what he does and sometimes pitchers and catchers click and bond, and those things happen," Boone said. "Sometimes that familiarity and that confidence allows the good things to continue and then all of a sudden you throw a wrinkle in that. So what I think is very possible and hopefully will happen is that success will happen with both of them, and that will be our goal as a club that eventually we get to a point where it doesn't matter between those two guys. Because obviously we think Ro and Gary are both really good at the relationship part of the pitcher-catcher relationship thing that happens. Hopefully that will happen over time."

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Boone said Tommy Kahnle (right shoulder tendonitis) has a chance to rejoin the Yankees at the back end of their upcoming eight-game road trip, which begins Tuesday in Washington. Adam Warren (right back strain) won't be back for the trip. … Boone and Yankees brass will discuss Brandon Drury's status this weekend. Drury, out since April 7 with a longstanding migraine issue, will complete the 20th and final day of his rehab assignment on Monday. Drury hit a grand slam in the second game of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's doubleheader. … Greg Bird (ankle surgery) and Billy McKinney (left shoulder sprain) will move their rehab assignments from Class-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton next week. Bird went 1-for-2 with a run, RBI and two walks Friday. … Justus Sheffield left Game 1 of Scranton's doubleheader after 3 2/3 innings with shoulder tightness but it's not considered serious and he's not scheduled for testing, according to the Times-Tribune.